


shelter

by wayward_stranger



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: 707 - Freeform, Angst, Crying, Drabble Fic, F/M, Fantasy AU, Flashbacks, Fluff, One-Shot, Romance, Sadness, Saeyoung Choi - Freeform, Sci-Fi AU, Shelter AU, based on shelter music video, female!MC, space fanatic!Saeyoung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 04:02:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9105826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_stranger/pseuds/wayward_stranger
Summary: And it's a long way forward so just trust in meI'll give you shelter like you've done for meThere was also that feeling of longing that MC never could quite put a finger on. The longing for a specific thing that was most probably lost among her forgotten memories. The feeling never went away and sometimes kept her up at night, making her ache all over even though her body didn’t feel any pain.MC picked up her tablet again and gazed at the messenger icon, wondering when she was going to get her answer.based on Porter Robinson and Madeon's 'Shelter' short film/music video





	

**Author's Note:**

> I know I haven't done 707's route yet but I'm already in love with him and I just imagined that a 'Shelter' au fic would be super angsty so here it is!  
> Also, this is my first Mystic Messenger fic so I hope you guys like it.

 “Still no message,” MC sighed, her eyes glancing over the messenger icon that had the words ‘No new messages in 2349 days’ next to it. She didn’t understand why she still felt disappointed about it even when she completely expected that she still wouldn’t receive any messages. With another loud sigh, MC put down the tablet and looked up at the familiar ceiling of her room with the same old light fixtures on it.

‘Today’s just going to be like every other day, isn’t it?’ she thought glumly. If she didn’t have her tablet with her, she would have lost track of all the days that passed by. It felt as if time was just meshed together into one long continuum there. Her tablet did keep her entertained for some time, allowing her to manipulate the surroundings of the world she currently lived in. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy her, not with the huge chunk of her memories missing.

There was also that feeling of longing that MC never could quite put a finger on. The longing for a specific thing that was most probably lost among her forgotten memories. The feeling never went away and sometimes kept her up at night, making her ache all over even though her body didn’t feel any pain.

MC picked up her tablet again and gazed at the messenger icon, wondering when she was going to get her answer.

…

_“Venus looks really bright tonight,” Saeyoung murmured to himself as he stared into eyepiece of his telescope. He definitely made the right choice here. The night sky was clearer in the countryside than the city so a lot more stars could be seen. He bit his lip excitedly and moved the telescope across to look for some constellations._

_Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past making Saeyoung shiver and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Damn it, I should have brought a coat or something…” he sighed. All he had on was a t-shirt and his hoodie._

_“You’ll catch a cold.”_

_“Gah!” Saeyoung jumped at the sound of someone else’s voice, accidentally knocking over his telescope. He wheeled around and found a girl standing behind him. She cocked her head at him and smiled._

_“Did I scare you?”_

_“No… I was just… surprised,” Saeyoung lied, smoothing out his clothes._

_“You’re not from here, are you?” she said._

_“How did you know that?” Saeyoung asked._

_“Because only someone who wasn’t from here would be stupid enough to go out at night without warmer clothing,” she chuckled slightly._

_“Ah, well if you put it that way I guess it is pretty obvious,” Saeyoung smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head._

_“Is that… a telescope?” the girl asked, stepping towards him._

_“Yeah, I was stargazing and everything,” Saeyoung nodded. “It’s pretty clear out hear so you can see pretty clearly. You don’t even need a telescope to see all these constellations,” he added, waving his hand at the sky._

_“Is that so?” the girl stood beside him and looked up at the sky._

_“Yeah. See? That’s the Big Dipper right there,” Saeyoung pointed. “And then that’s the Cancer constellation which usually comes out at this time of the year.”_

_“You sure know a lot,” the girl smiled._

_“Of course! My head is full of useless information!” Saeyoung boasted. The comment was half-deprecatory. Most of his friends and family always said that all his knowledge on space and constellations was useless and would bring him nothing in the future. OF course, Saeyoung ignored them and went for his passion; he even ended up getting a job in a space research facility._

_“That’s not useless at all,” the girl said. Saeyoung looked at her in slight surprise. “I mean, didn’t people before use constellations to tell the seasons? And sailors used it to navigate too, didn’t they? People just forgot about them with all this new technology around. It’s cool that you know all this stuff.”_

_Saeyoung stared at her. His cheeks suddenly felt warm and his heart thrummed in his chest. He hoped the girl couldn’t see how red his face felt. The girl unwound her scarf and handed it to him._

_“Here,” she said, offering the piece of clothing to him. “You’ll catch a cold if you’re dressed like that.”_

_“U-uh… There’s no need for that,” Saeyoung shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”_

_“Just take it,” the girl said, stepping forward and wrapping the scarf around his neck despite his protests. “I’m used to the cold anyway. I’ll come here tomorrow evening so you can return it to me then.”_

_“No, I—“_

_“Thank you,” the girl interrupted._

_“What?” Saeyoung frowned in confusion.”_

_“That’s what you should say,” she said. “I’d rather hear you say ‘thank you’ than ‘no thank you.’”_

_Saeyoung felt his face grow redder and he pulled the scarf up to cover himself. His nose caught a whiff of cinnamon and laundry detergent. “Th-thank you, then…” he stammered._

_“Great,” the girl nodded and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”_

_“Wait!” Saeyoung called after her as she began to walk away. “What’s your name?”_

_“It’s MC,” she answered. “What’s yours?”_

_“Saeyoung Choi,” he grinned before adding. “Defender of Justice.”_

_…_

 “Maybe somewhere around… here,” MC mumbled, dragging the picture she drew of a tree across the tablet with her stylus. When she looked up, the tree in front of her earlier had dematerialized and materialized again farther to her right. 3

“Perfect,” she smiled, stepping back to survey her work. She had spent most of the morning and afternoon rearranging the forest of trees to make space for a lake in the middle. Now, that a huge part of the forest had been cleared away, it was time to add the lake.

MC sat down cross-legged on the grass and began to draw on her tablet. After a few strokes, a lake appeared in the middle of the clearing she just made, bright and sparkling under the sunlight. MC grinned, putting down her tablet and stylus before walking over to it. She stopped by the lake’s edge to remove her shoes and roll up her leggings before stepping into the cool water.

“Ahh,” she sighed happily as she waded through the shallow lake. The wind blew past, ruffling the leaves from the trees until some of them drifted down to rest on the water’s surface. Then, out of the corner of her eye, MC spotted a pink flower petal floating among all the other leaves. Slowly, she reached a hand out to pluck it out of the water.

“A flower petal?” she cocked her head, holding it up in front of her face. “Where did this come from?” MC looked around her and spotted something pink somewhere in the distance beyond the trees near her. With her curiosity now piqued, MC made her way to the edge of the lake, stepping out of the water and heading straight in the direction where she saw it. She kept on walking, past the forest of trees, until she reached a cherry blossom tree standing out in the open.

“Did I make this before?” MC wondered out loud. But deep inside, she knew that she didn’t make it and that it hadn’t been there before. Still, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to it as she found herself stepping closer and closer to it until she was only a few feet in front of the trunk. She gazed up at the branches above her that were filled with pink flowers. Something was tied to one of the lower branches. MC tiptoed to look at it and saw that it was a wind chime.

MC had seen before, she knew that. Slowly, tentatively, she reached out a hand to touch the wind chime.

_MC, what are you doing there?_

_Huh? What’s that for?_

_Hah, I bet I can climb much higher than you._

_Justice never rests!_

With a sharp yelp, MC stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. ‘What was that just now?’ she thought frantically. At first, all she heard were voices, then images. She saw herself hanging up the wind chime and someone else being with her. Then, quick as a flash, everything disappeared.

Slowly, MC stood up and reached a hand out again to touch the wind chime. But this time, nothing happened. ‘Was I just… imagining it?’ she thought, stepping away from the tree. Then, she turned around and walked back the way she came.

…

_“MC, what are you doing?” Saeyoung asked, standing by the entrance of their backyard._

_“What does it look like?” MC answered back. Saeyoung had a bemused smile on his face as he watched her shimmy up the tree trunk, grasping at branches before pulling herself up. Finally she stopped climbing and began to tie something around one of the branches. Saeyoung walked towards the tree to get a closer look. When MC was done, she stepped back and grinned down at him._

_“Huh? What’s that for?” Saeyoung asked as soon as he saw the wind chime hanging from the branch._

_“It’s for good luck!” she said, sitting down on the tree branch below her and dangling her bare feet in the air. “To give us luck for this new year.”_

_“Why would you need luck when you have the Defender of Justice on your side?” Saeyoung boasted, puffing out his chest._

_“Can the Defender of Justice even climb a tree?” MC smirked playfully and raised an eyebrow at him. Saeyoung took it as a challenge._

_“Hah, I bet I can climb much higher than you!” he pointed. He grasped one of the lower branches, wrapping both of his legs around the tree trunk, and tried to pull himself up. But of course, his scrawny arms could only lift so much weight. Saeyoung let go and dropped down to the ground._

_“Does the Defender of Justice need some rest?” MC teased._

_“Justice never rests!” Saeyoung grinned back up at her. “But he may need a little help getting up…”_

_“Hold on,” MC chuckled and began climbing down to a lower branch before reaching her hand out to him. Saeyoung took it and began pulling himself up the tree until he could sit next to MC._

_“Mission: Climb a Tree is a success,” he beamed, flashing a thumbs-up. “Of course, I wouldn’t have done it without my trusty sidekick,” he added, wrapping an arm around MC’s shoulder._

_“Hey, shouldn’t you be the sidekick? I’m the one who helped pull you up,” she protested._

_“Fine, you can be the Defender of Justice for today,” Saeyoung gave in._

_“Awesome! MC, Defender of Justice…” MC mused before turning to him with a smile on her face. “I could get used to that.”_

_“Don’t get too used to it. You’re only Defender of Justice for today,” Saeyoung reminded._

_“I know, I know,” MC leaned against his shoulder. Saeyoung smiled and looked up at the sky. The afternoon sun was setting over the horizon. In the distance, he could see Mars, the planet that was once thousands of miles away was now a permanent part of their sky._

_“It looks kind of beautiful if you forget the fact that it’s going to collide with the Earth,” MC mumbled._

_“Yeah…” Saeyoung sighed. “That is a good way to think about it.” MC pursed her lips and slipped her hand into his._

_“That wind chime, it’s not just for luck,” she said softly. “It’s… for love too. They say if you hang it on a cherry blossom tree, you and your special someone will always be together.”_

_“We don’t need a charm for that.” Saeyoung cupped MC’s face with both hands and pressed his forehead against hers. “Your Defender of Justice is all you need. I’m making a spaceship to fly us both out of here to safety.”_

_“I know. I’ll trust you, Saeyoung…” MC nodded. Saeyoung pulled her closer in an embrace. Above them, the wind chime danced around in the breeze._

…

MC couldn’t stop thinking about the tree all day.

She was sitting on a cliff with her legs dangling freely over the edge and her tablet on her laptop. It was already night but it wasn’t dark at all with all the stars in the sky. The world around her was peaceful, it was always peaceful. Sometimes, MC found herself harmonizing with the tranquility around her. But tonight was different. Tonight, her longing for her past memories was stronger than ever.

‘What was that tree?’ MC wondered. ‘Why was it there?’ She bent over her tablet again and began scanning through the world she created until she came to the area with the forest and lake she just made that day. Slowly, she scrolled past it until she reached the spot where the cherry blossom tree was.

A rough sketch of it was etched in the area where MC had found it earlier. And then suddenly, the sketch began to erase itself. “W-wait a second!” she cried. Panicked, she picked up her stylus and tried to sketch it back but the tablet didn’t cooperate. The cherry blossom tree was her only link so far to her past, even though it only gave her vague memories she still couldn’t let it disappear.

MC stood up and ran in the direction of the forest, taking her tablet with her. While running, she cast glances at the sketch of the cherry blossom tree which was slowly but surely disappearing. MC bit her lip and willed herself to run faster. Before approaching the lake, she quickly used her stylus to erase the lake on her tablet, leaving her an open clearing to run through.

‘Please don’t go away. Please don’t go,’ MC thought frantically, sprinting past the trees and bursting into the clearing, just in time to see the cherry blossom tree completely fade away.

…

_“Astronomers have predicted that in one year, Mars will have fully entered Earth’s orbit and therefore collide with our planet at a much faster rate due to the gravitational pulls,” said the female reporter on TV. “The government is already speeding up their plans on creating spacecraft to evacuate citizens out of the planet before the collision happens.”_

_Saeyoung switched off the TV. As important as that information was, he couldn’t help but feel depressed at what he kept on hearing pretty much every day. One more year. It felt like a lot of time but in reality, it wasn’t._

_“Saeyoung, it’s time for dinner,” he heard MC call from the kitchen. Saeyoung turned around and saw her standing by the kitchen counter, ladling rice into bowls. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she wore a pink apron that said ‘Kiss the Cook’ over her clothes. She looked so beautiful. Saeyoung bit his lip, wondering if his chest was capable of actually bursting because he loved MC so much._

_“Um, actually…” Saeyoung cleared his throat. “I was thinking of maybe eating my dinner downstairs. I’ve been a bit behind on working on the space craft and everything so I kind of have to catch up now…”_

_“Oh, I see…” MC nodded. Saeyoung felt his chest ache at how sad and disappointed she looked._

_“I’m sorry…” he apologized, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll wash up after I’m done so just leave the plates in the sink. And I’ll cook dinner tomorrow too,” he offered. MC smiled and kissed him on the cheek._

_“It’s okay. I understand,” she said. “I’ll carry your dinner downstairs in a while. Don’t tire yourself out too much, okay?”_

_“Of course,” Saeyoung nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead before walking away._

_The basement of their house had been converted into Saeyoung’s ‘workshop.’ There were several tables in the area with various tools and blueprints and wires strewn over them. The largest worktable was in the center of the room. On top of it was an engine that Saeyoung was currently working on. He walked towards it and picked up a set of pliers and a wrench on the way there._

_‘One more year, Saeyoung,’ he reminded himself as he got right to work. ‘One more year.’_

…

“No. No, no, no,” MC cried out, running towards the tree. But then, it disappeared completely. She sank to her knees and pulled out her tablet, frantically trying to draw the tree back. But no matter how much she dragged her stylus over the surface, it didn’t come back. In fact, nothing she drew was coming out on the tablet either.

“Not you two,” MC groaned while frustratedly trying to draw something. Just then, the tablet’s screen went completely white. Surprised, MC dropped the stylus and looked around her. Slowly, the world around her gradually went white as well.

“What’s… happening..?” MC stood up and looked around in a mixture of awe and fear. And then, lines began appearing on the empty, white space that was left behind. The lines criss-crossed and intersected with each other until gradually, they began to form a picture. Soon, MC could see houses around her. Then streets formed, and telephone poles, and trees. Color began to fill in the empty, blank spaces around her. MC watched everything with wide eyes and then, realization hit.

She had been here before.

MC began to walk down one of the streets. She was certain she had been here before. Her feet knew where exactly they were taking her. They led her straight to one of the houses along the street. It was small but cozy too, with flowers and grass growing in the garden. MC walked straight up to the front door, twisted the knob open, and went inside.

The first thing that caught her eye were the pictures pasted along the wall near the doorway. She walked towards them to take a closer look and inhaled sharply when she realized she was in them. And in almost all of them, there was a man her. He had bright red hair and yellow glasses that seemed to take up half of his face. Most of the time he had a large, goofy grin on his face. But in some of the pictures, he would be staring at her with eyes full of love. MC felt her chest ache. When she raised a hand to her face she found that she was crying.

A name appeared in her head. She whispered it out loud.

“Saeyoung. Saeyoung Choi.”

MC pressed a hand to her mouth as sobs began to escape from her chest. She had someone, someone in her life. And he had loved her.

MC looked around her, taking in the sight of the house. This was where she had lived before. Everything around her looked plain and simple in contrast to the world she was living in now with all the wonderful landscapes and sights she had added. But despite all that, she felt as if the little house she was in right now was more wonderful than all of that.

While looking around, her eyes caught sight of a familiar flash of pink from the window. MC stepped closer, pressing a hand against the glass, and gasped when she saw the cherry blossom tree from earlier standing in the backyard. Quickly, she opened the door to the back and walked towards the tree. Her eyes ran over every detail, from the blossoms to the roots to the wind chime dangling from one of the branches. With her focus trained on the wind chime, MC began to climb the tree. Her feet and hands knew exactly where to place themselves, as if they’d done this a million times before. Finally, she stopped, and with one outreached hand, she touched it.

Almost instantly, her memories came back.

…

Once upon a time, a girl fell in love with a red-haired boy who had the stars in his eyes. But the things he saw in outer space through the telescope he had could never compare to the wonderful girl he fell in love with. The two of them got married and moved to a little house that had all they needed and wanted. But then, danger came in the form of a planet about to collide with the Earth. So the red-haired boy built her a spaceship and sent her off to the stars.

And he was left behind.

…

_“All systems ready and functioning,” said a computerized, female voice._

_“Alright then,” Saeyoung swallowed. The spacecraft was ready. Saeyoung had spent months perfecting every part of it, making sure that it was fully functioning. It had to be. After all, it was meant for her._

_Saeyoung gazed at MC’s sleeping figure on one of the tables in the basement. He felt a bit guilty for lying to her and sedating her with sleeping pills, but he had to do it. If she knew that Saeyoung wouldn’t be coming with her she would have never allowed him to send her away._

_Carefully, he picked her up and carried her over to the spacecraft before placing her gently inside. One by one, he began attaching wires to her back, shoulders, and the nape of her neck. Those were going to help keep her alive and healthy while she was asleep. And then, she was all set and ready to go. It was time for him to say goodbye._

_Saeyoung gently pushed MC’s hair away from her face, smiling at her expression. He always loved watching her sleep. Sometimes, he would lay awake in bed just to watch her. Being able to fall asleep and wake up next to her was one of Saeyoung’s greatest treasures. But tomorrow, he was going to wake up alone in his bed._

_Still, it had to be done. This was the only way to save her._

_“MC…” Saeyoung whispered, his voice heavy with sadness. He swallowed the lump forming in the back of his throat. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry it had to be this way. I-I wish I didn’t have to let you go just yet. I know we’ve been together for years but… it still doesn’t seem like enough. I know I sound selfish right now but… I just want more time.”_

_He was crying now. Saeyoung could feel warm, wet tears sliding down his face and dripping on MC’s lap. He inhaled a shaky breath and pressed his trembling lips to her forehead._

_“I’m sorry for not being able to spend enough time with you for the past few months. I’m sorry you had to go to bed alone. I’m sorry for not being able to eat dinner with you. But at least... you’ll be safe. When I look at the stars, I’ll just imagine you up there with them, flying around in the spacecraft I made.” he finished. Saeyoung pressed one last kiss on her lips before stepping back and closing the hatch. Then, he walked to the control panel and switched on the spacecraft’s engines._

_“Spacecraft ready for take-off in t-minus ten seconds,” the computerized female voice announced. “Beginning countdown. Ten… nine… eight…”_

_This was it. Saeyoung felt more tears run down his face as he saw MC’s sleeping face through the window of the spacecraft. She was already leaving._

_“Three… Two… One…”_

_The spacecraft’s engines burst, pushing it upwards and shooting it straight up to the sky. Saeyoung sank to his knees, feeling the sobs freely escape his chest. He removed his glasses and rubbed his hand over his eyes. She was already gone and the loneliness came crashing over him. But underneath his tears, Saeyoung smiled._

_Overhead, only a trail of smoke in the sky remained._

…

MC woke up lying on the ground with tears in her eyes. Slowly, she sat up and gazed about her. The house and tree and everything around her were gone. Only darkness surrounded her. ‘I know everything now…’ she thought. ‘But somehow, I feel emptier than before.’ The world around her somehow perfectly matched how she felt.

And then, something lit up beside her. MC turned her head and saw her tablet lying on the ground near her. She sat up and her eyes widened when she saw the messenger icon light up with the notification ‘One new message received.’ MC blinked twice, to make sure she wasn’t just dreaming it, and saw that it really was real. Hands shaking, she pressed the icon to read the message.

There were only three words.

But somehow, that was enough.

“Saeyoung, you idiot…” MC laughed, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her sweater. “Is that the only thing you have to say?” She picked up the tablet and suddenly the darkness around her faded. MC found herself in a clearing surrounded by grass with a blue sky overhead. The cherry blossom tree appeared before her. MC stood up and held the tablet close to her chest. She looked up at the wind chime that was still there, dangling from one of the branches. ‘That wind chime, it’s not just for luck. It’s… for love too.’ She remembered saying that a long time ago when she first hung the wind chime up.

“I guess that’s true then…” MC smiled then bit her lip as more tears spilled out. Saeyoung was no longer with her, and that was the saddest part of all. But he had given her everything. He had loved her for most of her life and when it seemed impossible, he had done everything he could to save her. MC had the memories of his love with her, and that was more than enough. Even though everything seemed dark, she knew she was still strong enough to move forward.

“I guess… the wind chime really did work, didn’t it Saeyoung?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment/give kudos if you liked it!


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